Today we drove from Mitchell, SD to Winter Quarters, NE (Omaha); then to Kanesville, IA (Council Bluffs). The two sites are 12.5 miles apart and separated by the Missouri River.

Winter Quarters, NE Temple (dedicated by Gordon B. Hinckley on April 22, 2001)

Winter Quarters Visitor Center.

The Temple and the Visitor Center are across the street from each other.

Kanesville Tabernacle

Below is a summary of what we learned today:

• In 1846, about 12,000 members of the Church crossed southern Iowa and settled temporarily on both sides of the Missouri River.
• Winter Quarters was the headquarters of the Church until the first group of pioneers left for the Salt Lake valley in 1847. Kanesville then became the headquarters.
• The Mormon Battalion was mustered six miles southeast of Kanesville in July 1846.
• Brigham Young stayed for three weeks in the Salt Lake valley, then returned to Kanesville. Upon his arrival, he directed that the Tabernacle be erected. On December 27, 1847, he was sustained as the second president of the Church.